by TJ Green
She nodded. "I think so. I actually managed some decent sleep."
"I could tell---your breathing was heavy and slow. Hungry?"
"Starving."
"Want breakfast in bed?"
"No, I'll get up. Thank the Gods it's Sunday and the shop is closed."
She padded into the kitchen, wrapped in his heavy robe, and sat at the counter watching him finish making breakfast. He pushed a coffee in front of her. "This will perk you up." He watched her take a few sips. "I've been thinking about what we should do today, and the first thing should be to decipher that." He pointed at her palm.
"You're right. The more we know, the better. I also want to look up crossroads, famous or otherwise, see if I can find some images that will help find out where it really is." She sighed. "I'm wondering if I could use witch-flight to try and get back there, physically, but I'm not sure that's a good idea."
"It's a very bad idea. Don't you dare try that. But researching it sounds fine." He finished preparing bacon and egg sandwiches for them both, and she tucked in. "Briar has already phoned. She's coming around in about half an hour with another potion. It sounds like she woke up early to make one, and apparently El and Reuben are coming, too. She has some jewellery for you."
"Full house, then."
"For a while." He pointed to the table in the corner where a pile of books was already waiting, including his grimoires. "And then we have some reading to do."
***
When the other three witches arrived, Avery was the centre of attention for the next hour, and she didn't like it one bit. "Please, stop fussing! I'm okay."
Briar placed her hands on her hips and stared Avery down, although she was looking up at her. She was petite and shorter than Avery. "No, you're not. You're going to have to put up with fuss until we work out what's going on and sever the connection to this bitch." Briar hardly ever swore, and everyone looked at her, wide-eyed. "What? She is one! And she has really pissed me off. I have made half a dozen potions for you, enough to last a couple of days. One with breakfast, one with lunch, and the red ones are to have before bed."
She handed Avery four small turquoise glass vials filled with a thick liquid, and two red ones. Avery pulled the lid off one and sniffed. "What's in them?"
"Many things. The turquoise ones will enhance your energy. The red ones are to help you sleep. I'm working on some more, too. Take one now."
Avery braced herself and downed it in one go. She knew from experience that potions sometimes tasted horrible. She winced. This one was no exception. "Yuck."
"It will work, that's all that matters."
Reuben laughed. "Briar, I had no idea you could be so bossy."
Briar turned to him and frowned. "Don't you start."
Reuben smelt of the sea again, and his hair was still damp. It was obvious that despite the grey, cold weather and freezing water, he had been for an early surf. He held up his hands in mock surrender. "No chance."
El leaned forward, passing Avery a silver necklace with an oval black stone in a simple setting. "This is from my Crossroads Collection. Jet protects you from evil, violence, and psychic attacks, and will hopefully slow down the pull of your magic that woman is using." Avery slipped it over her head, feeling the weight of the stone rest just below her throat; its steady, thrumming energy soothed her.
"Thanks, I feel it already."
El nodded, pleased. "Now, show me your hand. Alex told us you're marked."
Avery held her hand out and the others crowded around.
"It's not a rune," El said confidently. "Unless it's of a type I have never seen before."
"I agree," Reuben said, taking Avery's hand in his rough one and tracing his finger over it. "Is it a sigil of some sort?" He looked at her with piercing blue eyes. "Was this on that standing stone you touched?"
Avery nodded. "Yes. It was covered in them, of different designs, all carved by hand, and I didn't recognise any of them. They started to glow when I put my hand on the stone. It hummed with power, and then started to suck me in... Sorry, it sounds mad, but that's exactly how it felt." She shuddered at the memory.
"What about the other three stones?" Reuben asked. "Did they glow?"
Avery paused for a moment, thinking back to her dream. "No, I don't think so, but I was so focused on the stone I was attached to that I didn't really look."
"That's a good question," Briar said, looking bleak. "It would indicate if they're all connected. And you have no idea where that crossroads is?"
"No. The landscape was completely unrecognisable. Surely a crossroads with four standing stones marking each corner is weird, though?"
Alex frowned, "Maybe, maybe not. Standing stones are littered across the UK, and in Europe. They might not be obviously on crossroads now, but maybe some were in the past. There are hundreds of standing stones and strange cairns in Cornwall, and there's the Castlerigg Stone Circle close to Hunter, but I don't recall any crossroads."
Avery closed her eyes for a few seconds, but already the crossroads was fainter in her mind, harder to recall. "I think this is good news---it's not as close to me now."
"That's the potion and the necklace working," Briar told her. "Was the woman there? I presume not."
"No, fortunately, but I felt her guiding hand on all of it. But," Avery continued, "something I do remember is how old the place felt. I mean, truly ancient."
Alex headed to his coffee machine and started another brew. "What if this isn't just a distance location, but a time one as well?"
"Surely I couldn't have travelled to my van on the car park last night so easily?" Avery reasoned, feeling a chill sweep through her. "I mean, if I had moved through time in any significant way, that would have affected everything."
Alex stared at her for a moment, nodding. "Probably. It was just a thought."
"You know, there is something I forgot to tell you," Avery confessed. "There's a strange American man in town who seems to be watching our mysterious woman, and my shop."
"What!" Alex exclaimed. "Why didn't you say?"
"I forgot, sorry."
"Tell us everything," Reuben instructed.
Avery related her two encounters with the man, and how he'd disappeared on a motorbike.
"Bollocks!" Alex said. "What the hell has he got to do with all this?"
"If it's any reassurance, I didn't feel threatened by him," Avery told them.
"I'll keep an eye out for him, and let Newton know," Reuben said. "You concentrate on feeling better."
Briar picked up her bag, and slung it over her shoulder. "Right, we'll leave you to it. I'm heading back to do some spell research for you. I'll let Eli know about this man tomorrow, just in case he's seen him in town."
El and Reuben made to leave, too. "We'll see what we can find," El said, pulling Avery into a hug. "In the meantime, Avery, stay safe, and don't rush off on your own. This woman will be around for a while. We have time to deal with this. We only have a few pieces of the puzzle so far, but we'll work it out."
For the next few hours, Avery and Alex worked quietly side by side, looking through signs and sigils, before moving on to standing stones and crossroads, but by lunch, Avery was ready to tear her hair out.
"I am utterly stumped," she confessed. "And I'm hungry."
Alex slapped his book shut with a resounding thud. "I think we should go and see Shadow."
"You do? Why?"
He looked at her for a second, and Avery could see the worry in his eyes. "I don't want you to freak out, but I've been thinking about that mark and why we can't find out what it is. Last night you were at a boundary, an active boundary. What if the marks aren't from our world?"
Avery looked down at her hand, and then back up at him. "You might be right."
He leapt up, and grabbed his keys. "Come on, I'll drive."
"Can we swing by my flat on the way and feed the cats? I'm afraid they'll think I've abandoned them."
"Ah, the children," he said, laughing. "
Of course."
By the time they got to the old farmhouse on the hill, a fine drizzle had set in, and the surrounding fields were a murky grey and green. Alex complained all the way up the bumpy lane, as they jolted along. "I'm sure Gabe makes this road even worse, just to deter visitors."
He pulled into the courtyard surrounded by outbuildings, and they ran to Shadow's place, the converted stable. There was no answer there, so they headed for the main house instead, Avery running with her coat over her head to keep from getting wet.
For a few moments their knocking went unanswered again, and then they heard heavy footfalls. Gabe answered the door, dressed in black fatigues and a black t-shirt, but his feet were bare, and his short dark hair, which was slightly longer than usual, looked damp. He frowned. "Alex and Avery! Didn't expect to see you two. Come on in."
He led them up the hall into the big rustic kitchen at the rear of the house, and Avery noticed that although the place looked as bare as usual, at least it was warm. To her surprise, Shadow was in the kitchen, stirring something in a pot, from which an aromatic smell drifted. A fire was burning in the fireplace, and plates, bowls, and cooking paraphernalia covered most surfaces.
Shadow looked around and smiled. "Hi, guys. I'm cooking. I've found it's a great way to de-stress." She wore an overlarge set of striped pyjamas, which draped her slender frame, and Avery found her mouth dropping open in surprise before she clamped it shut.
Gabe rolled his eyes as he headed to the kettle. "What de-stresses Shadow, distresses me. Look at the mess. Tea, coffee, or beer?"
As one, Avery and Alex said, "Beer, please."
"Good call," Gabe said, heading to the fridge and grabbing four beers. "I've just got back from work, and this is what I find." He popped the caps, handed them out and took a drink. "Grab a seat," he told them gesturing towards the table and taking a seat himself.
"Were you working for Caspian?" Alex asked, as they joined him.
Gabe nodded. "Yeah. He had a big shipment last night, at his Falmouth warehouse, so I was supervising that."
Alex looked puzzled. "I thought you did security?"
"It involves a few things. Turns out that Caspian likes having us Nephilim around."
Intriguing, Avery thought watching him. It made her wonder quite what Caspian's business was sometimes. Perhaps best she didn't know. "Are all of you helping him?"
He jerked his head back, indicating Shadow. "She helps sometimes, just enough to earn her keep, and the other guys roster through, although Barak, Nahum, and Niel do most of it."
Shadow snorted. "Enough to earn my keep, indeed! You great-winged idiot. I pull my weight." Avery sniggered. Great-winged idiot? She continued, unabashed. "I'm making a hot pot for you! Do you want to try some?"
"Is it safe?" Gabe asked, his eyebrows rising.
"Of course. I'm fey."
"Always with the fey thing," he said, sighing. "Dish it up then, and I'll try not to throw up."
"You know you won't," she retorted, as she grabbed some bowls and started to spoon it out.
Avery and Alex exchanged an amused glance. What was this weird, domestic set-up?
"What about you two?" Shadow asked.
"Saves us a pub lunch," Avery found herself saying. "And to be honest, it smells great."
"It's rabbit. I shot them yesterday, using my bow, obviously. I need to keep my skills up."
"Great," Avery said, hating the thought of hunting, but the dish that appeared in front of her looked delicious, and she tucked in regardless.
Shadow sat next to them, placing some slices of fresh bread on a plate in the middle, and then looked at Avery knowingly. "What happened to you last night?"
"You know what happened. I ended up at some weird crossroads."
"I know that. I mean afterwards. In the night. You look terrible," she said bluntly.
"Thanks so much for your honesty. I visited the crossroads again, in my dream, sort of." Avery shook her head, confused. "I don't know if I can call it a dream, because I was there. It was so real!"
Alex interrupted. "She screamed the place down. I had to shake her out of it."
Shadow looked nonplussed. "I told you that you were connected, psychically. I'm not surprised."
Avery put her spoon down. "Well, go you! This isn't that easy for me to accept. It was bloody scary! I almost got sucked into a standing stone, and now I'm marked!" She thrust her palm in front of Shadow.
Shadow blanched. "By Herne's curly horns. That's fey script! How did this happen?"
"Fey script?" Avery looked at her hand. "No wonder we couldn't decipher it."
"I did think it was a possibility," Alex said, "but I honestly hoped I was wrong. It seemed too surreal."
Shadow's nonchalant attitude disappeared and she became very excited. "If you have fey script on your hand, it must mean the boundaries are weakened. This could be my chance!" She narrowed her eyes at them. "I told you there was more than one way!"
"Do you think we can forget about your way home for one second?" Avery asked, annoyed. "I've been marked. What the hell does it mean?"
"You have been claimed."
"I've been sodding what?"
"Claimed. By the Goddess of the Crossroads."
The room fell silent as they all stopped eating and looked at Shadow.
Alex found his voice first. "Do you mean Hecate?"
"The three-headed Goddess who sees past, present, and future? Yes."
"The maiden, the mother, and the crone," he said, elaborating.
Shadow looked confused. "If you say so. We have many Gods and Goddesses in our world. She is one of them. We keep out of their business and they keep out of ours, most of the time. Apart from, you know, a few months ago."
Alex was struggling to remain calm. "What do you mean, claimed?"
To be fair to Shadow, she looked a bit flustered, too. "Avery has been marked as a sacrifice. That's what that writing says. It's ancient."
Avery closed her eyes, willing herself to be calm. She opened her eyes again, staring into Shadow's violet ones, which were beguiling and cunning all at the same time. "The writing on the standing stones must have all been in fey script."
A calculating look swept across Shadow's face. "Probably. Tell me more."
Avery resumed eating, and in between mouthfuls told Shadow exactly what had happened in her dream.
"We need to find this crossroads," Shadow said, and looked to Gabe for support. "I need to go there!"
"Just slow down a second," Alex said. "Of course we need to go there, but we need to find out more about it! Why is Avery being targeted? There are four other witches that woman could have picked on. And who the hell is she?"
But it wasn't Shadow who answered---it was Gabe. "The Gods always like their sacrifices."
"Well, Avery won't be one," Alex said, jabbing his fork forcefully at him and Shadow. "We need to break this, but to do that we need to know what she is to be sacrificed for."
"Not will be, will try to be," Avery pointed out, annoyed.
"Well, that's the big question, isn't it?" Shadow said, absently playing with the food in her bowl. "The obvious answer would be to increase Hecate's power. But of course, it could be to strengthen the woman's power. She could be drawing on power from Hecate for a spell. Or it could be that something needs to manifest from the crossroads, and they need Hecate's power for that to happen."
"But surely they're already drawing on that power," Avery said. "That's how the Raven King and the Green Man are becoming real! And what about the deaths? And the strange conversation we heard: 'Its power feeds this place, don't forget that.' Who or what is it?"
"I wonder if there's a way for me to travel to the crossroads with you," Shadow mused. "It would allow me to decipher the script on the standing stones."
"That would be useful," Alex conceded. "What if we psychically linked with you, Avery? Like we did with Gabe once. Remember, we were able to see the cave where you were?" he said to Gabe.
&nbs
p; Gabe grunted. "I remember that. You were surprisingly strong."
Alex flashed him a surprised grin. "Thanks. We could use the same technique. Then hopefully, wherever it is that you go, Avery, we could go with you."
Avery started to feel the tiniest bit hopeful. "Maybe, but that could be dangerous. You had to drag me back last night. If you're there with me, who brings us back?"
"Our coven. I'll need them, too."
"Where do we do this?" Shadow asked.
"My place," Alex volunteered. "I've been thinking about the other night, when you and Briar felt Earth magic, and you said you could feel something drawing on you. Do you think that's because of the boundary magic, that it knew you were fey?"
Shadow nodded. "I've been thinking on that too, and I think you're right. In the end, though, whatever it was wanted you more, Avery."
"Lucky me."
Alex rose to his feet. "Thanks for the food, Shadow, but we better go. I want to prepare for tonight." He held his hand out for Avery. "Come on. Let's get you home."
She stood, feeling lethargic and heavy. Damn it. Whatever was happening was not stopping. It was a strange sensation knowing that something was draining her power. A chill swept through her as she realised she could lose her magic, if not her life. That could not happen. A life without magic was no life at all.
11
Avery and Alex spent a quiet afternoon at Alex's flat, and while Alex prepared for the ritual ahead, Avery continued her research.
Halfway through the afternoon, he declared, "I'm going to need Caspian."
"Why?"
"You'll be in the circle centre with me, linked over the crystal ball, and so will Shadow. We need someone to represent elemental Air, and he's strong."
"Do we have to involve him?" she asked, groaning.
"Yes. You know I wouldn't suggest him if we didn't need to, and he did offer to help. Besides, we need as much power as we can to do this, and he's powerful."
She sighed dramatically. "All right, then."
While Alex made the arrangements, Avery continued to research crossroads and stone circles and found out one fact that was particularly unpleasant. "Do you know that standing stones are supposed to represent witches in some places? They were frozen in place, transformed!"